Trend toward more toll roads will keep rolling along, expert says

Talking with

James Ely, senior vice president and chairman of toll services… (HNTB )

September 15, 2013

James Ely, 65, ran Florida's Turnpike for 21 years, retiring from the job in June 2010. He now is a senior vice president and chairman of toll services for HNTB, an architecture, civil engineering consulting and construction management firm. Ely, who works in Tallahassee, spoke recently with Sentinel reporter Dan Tracy.

CFB: Metro Orlando has nearly 260 miles of toll roads, and more are on the way. Are tolls the only way to pay for large road projects?

Tolls are a very feasible way to pay for projects. Generally speaking, I don't see tolling as an end to itself. It's a means to an end, and that's better mobility. So tolling, particularly in our state of Florida, has allowed many projects to go forward that wouldn't otherwise go. In fact, around the country Florida is considered the No. 1 toll state with over 700 miles of toll facilities that generate in excess of $1.2 billion a year in revenues.

CFB: Is Orlando and Florida an anomaly or part of a nationwide trend towards tolls?

I'm on airplane three or four days a week, flying all over the country, meeting with executive directors of toll agencies, secretaries of DOTs, elected officials. In a way, I feel I'm the Marco Polo of the toll industry. Across the country, there really today is a renaissance in tolling caused by three trends. One is a growing acceptance of tolling. Second, is the fact that the gas tax is not sustainable and there needs to be other sources of funding to build projects. And I think the other trend causing this renaissance is the advancements in toll technology, particularly the payment of tolls and with electronic toll collection.

CFB: Wouldn't it be fairer to just raise the gas tax than charging tolls?

The gas tax really has been the backbone of transportation funding for years. It is very efficient as far as the collection process. The issue really is the political will to raise the gas tax. And we haven't seen that will expressed at the federal level. And today, as you know, cars are much more efficient and they are not using the volume of gas as they were. The other fact that is interesting to me is as a country if you look at population growth, our current population in the United States is 312 million, something like that. Experts have predicted that by the year 2040, 2045, we'll have another 100 million Americans. That increase in population, particularly in the urban areas, will put greater stress on our transportation systems and cause a desire to improve capacity and through-put in the urban areas. And I think that's where tolling can help out with those type of projects.

CFB: There's been very preliminary talk in Orlando of maybe tolling roads that are very congested, such as State Road 50. Is that a viable option?

To toll an existing facility that is not tolled is very challenging. In fact, you would have to have federal and state authorization to do that. The federal regulation on the interstate says you can add new capacity to an interstate project or highway and toll that, but you cannot convert a general purpose lane that is currently not tolled to a toll lane. There would have to be changes at the federal level and also state policies. There really is no such thing as a free road. Every road costs money.

CFB: You mentioned earlier that there is a growing acceptance of tolls. That may be, but I've yet to meet someone who likes paying tolls.

I've been in the transportation field for over three decades, actually going on my fourth decade now, and I have yet in my entire career met a person who really enjoys paying a toll. However, I think people enjoy the benefits that tolling provides. That's enhanced mobility. Generally speaking, folks would rather have one of those non-tolled facilities where they won't have to pay to use them. But in urban areas and where we have growing capacity needs, tolling is a way to take help take care of that growth. Yes, I agree I have yet to meet a person who loves paying a toll. But I have met many people who enjoy the benefits that tolling brings as far as transportation goes.